178 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the price of the powder in the market was not enough to cover the 

 high cost of harvesting. Four kilogrammes of fresh flowers are 

 required to give i kilo of the dried flowers, and at that time the whole- 

 sale price at Marseilles was only 3 frs. 50 per kilo. The late wars 

 in the Balkans, however, have so seriously affected the supply of the 

 powder from Dalmatia that the same powder now fetches 10 francs 

 per kilo, and cultivators in France, Algiers, Morocco, and Tunisia 

 are being advised to experiment with this crop. — M. L. H. 



Raisin Seeds, The Utilization of Waste. By Frank Rabak 

 {U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bur. PL Ind., Bull. 276 ; March 1913 ; 3 figs.). — 

 Describes investigations undertaken with the object of preparing 

 products of commercial value from this waste material, of which it is 

 estimated three to four thousand tons are available each year. This 

 is in addition to the grape seeds and wine residues, grape-seed oil 

 being an important product of the wine regions of France and Italy, 

 where it is used as an edible oil and in the manufacture of soap. The 

 investigations described show that, in addition to the oil, raisin seeds 

 will yield a clear transparent syrup, tannin extract, and meal, the 

 last of which, on account of its high protein content — 12 per cent. — 

 should be useful as part at least of a stock food ration, though this 

 would have to be determined by actual feeding experiments. Production 

 of the tannin extract is practicable only in the case of raisin seeds, wine 

 residues being probably largely depleted of this element. — A. P. 



Ramie. By L. H. Dewey [U.S.A. Dep. Agr., Bur. PL Ind., Circ. 

 103 ; Dec. 1912 ; 2 figs.). — Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) has been an 

 important fibre-producing plant in China for many centuries, and its 

 use in the western world is now increasing. It is an herbaceous plant, 

 growing from 2 to 6 feet in height, similar to the nettle in appearance, 

 to which family it belongs, but without stinging hairs. A warm, 

 moist climate is essential for its successful cultivation, with a rich, 

 deep, moist soil, not subject to drought. The yield of dry fibre is from 

 3 to 5 per cent, of the weight of the green crop, or 15 to 20 per cent, 

 of that of the air-dry stalks, and this is the only part having any 

 market value. The importations into the United States of China 

 grass (ramie fibre cleaned by hand in China) amount to about 

 1,000,000 lb. annually. Instructions are given for the growth of 

 the crop and the preparation of the fibre. — -A. P. 



Rhododendrons, Poisoning by [Jour. Bd. Agr. vol. xx. No. 12, 



pp. 1093-1094). — A case has recently been brought to the notice of 

 the Board of Agriculture in which the loss of several cows has been 

 attributed to poisoning by Rhododendron ponticum. Animals do 

 not appear to eat Rhododendrons very extensively, but from the 

 various references to literature given it would seem that there is no 

 doubt as to the poisonous character of a number of species of Rhodo- 

 dendron, and indeed most species are suspected. Both the leaves and 

 flowers are narcotic, and even the honey in the flowers is regarded 

 with suspicion. — A. S. 



